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As far as the NWFP is concerned, most of the important archaeological sites are situated in different areas of district Mardan including Takht Bhai, Sri Behlol, Jamal Ghari, Shahbaz Ghari, Sangao, Kara Mar. The sculptures from these areas could be found in almost every important museum of the world.
It is learnt that making fake sculptures and smuggling of these items is going on since long in broad daylight despite the presence of Antiquity Act, law-enforcement agencies and custom and other department.
There are hundreds of archaeological mounds right from Attock to Swat, Dir, Malakand, Mohmand and Bajaur agencies, which the experts said are still untouched due to non-availability of funds.
The smugglers and antiquity dealers illegally excavate these sites at nights with the
help of armed guards, experts alleged. The local police cannot combat these smugglers, as they have more sophisticated weapons as compared to police.
Declaring archaeology a concurrent subject caused much harm to it, experts believed. Whatever antiquities are seized at the airports or exit points, are taken over by the federal department of archaeology and stored in its godowns without informing the Frontier government.
Since the Gandhara art has become very popular all over the world the museums and rich people of the foreign countries are demanding Gandhara antiquities. Taking into consideration this demand, the people have started making fake sculptures as they do the carving in the same ‘schist’ stone, which is available only in the hills and mountains of the NWFP including Malakand, Swat, Buner, Dir, Bajaur and Mohmand agencies.
Those involved in the business are hundreds in numbers and their centre is Texila and its neighbourhood, reliable sources told The News. The traders in Takht Bhai have also hired the services of these sculptors, who are provided separate accommodation on the main road leading towards the historical and archaeological sites.
They are busy in the preparation of the sculptures in separate rooms. After making them, they bury them in the earth so that they should look as old piece of art. Some times they put them in the rooms meant for the animals where they burn straws so that they could turn black, it is learnt. Sometimes they apply chemicals to these fake antiques to change their original colour.
Then even the experts are unable to differentiate between the original and fakes sculptures. The traders, on the condition of anonymity told The News that those sculptors, who prepare fake images copy it from the original piece or after studying their photographs in the books published on Gandhara Art everywhere in the world. Every sculptor has usually a good collection of such books.
The local elders revealed that they have forced the fake sculptures makers to leave their places and now quarters have been constructed on their sites at Kot Road some eight to ten years before.
A police officer, pleading anonymity, said that a sculptor had once told him that he could prepare his statue along with his pistol, which would look like real man but without life.
The antique dealers had their own local agents, who sell these fake sculptures. They have good contacts all over the country that purchase these fake antiques for onward transportation to the Gulf States, Europe and USA.
Sometimes, they invite a buyer from abroad to see their bogus excavations and burry the fake sculptures in the ground before his arrival. Then they dig it out in front of him to pose that they have discovered it just now, sources said.
A dealer in the historic Ander Shehar bazaar said he is engaged in this business since decades and he can recognise the old and new beads with confidence. He said a villager had brought a statue, which he found in his field and sold it at a cost of Rs 10,000, but later it was sold at Rs1 million.
These persons involved in this illegal trade know not only the art of statue making but also make ornaments, dolls, chains and beads in gold as well as in silver. The price of common ear-rings is Rs 16,000 for eight to 10 grams but the same item when declared antique is sold at cost of Rs 50,000. It is called “Stramay”.
The antiquity dealers occupying shops in the newly constructed multi-storey Shinwari Market in the Ander Sher Bazaar revealed that a large number of Afghan refugees were also involved in the trade.
“The common people had been finding antiques in their field in the neighbourhood of archaeological sites but very few among them had made fortune,” said an elder in Sari Behlol area of Mardan district,” he added.
“Since our people are illiterate and know nothing about it, they are using big statues as bridge to cross the village nullahs,” he said. Sari Behlol is situated on the archaeological mound, which is the property of the Khan of Mardan.
Diaper masonry walls are still visible at different places in the village. Sri Behlol Gandhara collection is the richest where life size statues were recovered. The two tallest standing Buddha in stones in Peshawar Museum were found in Sri Behlol.
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